Distributor to be Deported Following Illegal Caviar Imports

A man first charged in 1987 with illegally shipping more than 100,000 pounds of caviar into the U.S. was sentenced Monday to four months served in prison and deportation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced.

Isidoro “Mario” Garbarino, an Italian citizen, pleaded guilty in November to unlawfully importing caviar valued at more than $10 million. He pleaded guilty to one count of falsely classifying imported goods and one count of making false statements in connection with the importation of the caviar, prosecutors said.
Garbarino was first charged with the crime in 1987, but skipped out of the U.S. in 1989, while he was free on bail. He was captured by U.S. Marshals in September.

As part of his plea, Garbarino agreed to make $3 million in restitution to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the duties, penalties and accrued interest owed for the unlawfully imported caviar, prosecutors said.

At the time he was charged, Garbarino was the president and owner of the now-defunct Aquamar Gourmet Imports, Inc. Prosecutors alleged that between 1984 and 1987, Garbarino and Aquamar engaged in various schemes to avoid paying tariffs on certain Russian and Iranian goods, including caviar, which were taxed at a rate of about 30%.